City |
WTHT: Auburn, Maine WBQQ: Kennebunk, Maine |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Portland, Maine north to Augusta on 99.9, south to Portsmouth NH on 99.3 |
Branding | 99.9 the Wolf |
Slogan | Maine's #1 Country Station |
Frequency |
WTHT: 99.9 MHz (also on HD Radio) WBQQ: 99.3 MHz |
Translator(s) | 96.9 W245AA (Portland, relays WTHT) |
First air date |
WTHT: February 1977 (as WWAV) WBQQ: November 1991 |
Format |
Country music HD2: Classic hits "Frank FM" (WBQX simulcast) |
ERP |
WTHT: 28,500 watts WBQQ: 3,000 watts |
HAAT |
WTHT: 196 meters WBQQ: 100 meters |
Class |
WTHT: B WBQQ: A |
Facility ID |
WTHT: 24949 WBQQ: 69854 |
Transmitter coordinates |
WTHT: 43°57′7″N 70°17′46″W / 43.95194°N 70.29611°W WBQQ: 43°24′16″N 70°26′15″W / 43.40444°N 70.43750°W |
Former callsigns |
WTHT: WWAV (1977-1983) WKZS (1983-1998) WMWX (1998-2000) WMEK-FM (2000-2004) |
Owner | Binnie Media (WBIN Media Co., Inc.) |
Sister stations | WFNK, WHXR |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | 999thewolf.com |
WTHT (99.9 FM; "The Wolf") is a radio station broadcasting a Country music format. Licensed to Auburn, Maine, the station serves the Portland area. The station is currently owned by Binnie Media. Programming is simulcast on WBQQ (99.3 FM) in Kennebunk.
The WTHT call letters were once assigned to 102.9 FM under the moniker of "FM 103", playing CHR/Top 40 music, licensed to Portland and operating at 100,000 watts ERP from roughly the mid-1980s until 1989.
In 1989, an agreement was made between WBLM, which at the time was broadcasting on 107.5 FM, and WTHT to swap frequencies while retaining their respective call letters. At the time of the swap, the 107.5 FM frequency had an ERP of 50,000 watts and was licensed to Lewiston (Auburn). This swap was intended to give WBLM a significantly stronger signal in Portland, as well as Central and Southern Maine, Eastern New Hampshire, and Northeastern Massachusetts; however, once the swap was complete, WTHT lost a significant amount of coverage, especially in extreme Southern Maine and Southeastern New Hampshire. In fact, during the summer tropospheric ducting season, WTHT often suffered from significant interference from WFCC in Chatham, Massachusetts, also on 107.5 FM. This interference was often so significant that, at times, WTHT's signal was completely replaced by WFCC's signal in Southeastern New Hampshire and along the Maine coast from Kittery to the Biddeford/Saco area.
Once the swap with WBLM was complete, WTHT re-branded themselves as "Thunder 107", and retained their CHR format with a bit of a rhythmic lean, which was popular at the time. That format continued for a few years before being dropped in 1992 and flipped to an Oldies format with a new moniker of "Oldies 107.5". Later, the Oldies format was replaced by a Country format known as "107.5 The Wolf". In April 2004, as stated below, the WTHT calls, the country format, and for the most part, the moniker, were moved to 99.9 FM. The 107.5 FM frequency was then assigned the call letters WFNK and re-launched with a Classic Hits format under the name "107.5 Frank FM". This arrangement continues to this day.